Tajani goes on the offensive and digs in. But in the south, Forza Italia is showing cracks

He is taking a dig at his allies in an attempt to shift the focus away from his own party. He is well aware that if a row is to be had, it is better to have it with the League than with his colleagues in Forza Italia. This also explains the insistence with which Antonio Tajani, speaking yesterday at the Rimini Meeting, resumed his attack on the idea of a tax on oil companies’ windfall profits: “When I hear the word ‘taxes’, I break out in hives. There is no such thing as a right to extra profits. ‘Extra profits’ is a dirty word. I’m totally against it; it smacks of the USSR to me.” It is no coincidence that the Deputy Prime Minister chose to reiterate these positions just a few hours before the Council of Ministers meeting, which did indeed renew the cut in fuel excise duties. But with a government that is still playing it by ear when it comes to longer-term strategies, unsure of where to find the money. There are plenty of reasons, however, for Tajani to talk about anything but the ‘Azzurri’: particularly in the South (though not only there), in fact, there are quite a few destabilising cracks beginning to show.

The most precarious situation concerns Campania, where as many as four MPs (Pino Bicchielli, Annarita Patriarca, Francesco Silvestro and Raffaele De Rosa) have signed a document denouncing a regional party in disarray, calling for the ‘restoration of internal democracy’. The bone of contention is, as ever, the regional congress due to be held on 9 September – a Wednesday – coinciding with the vote on the new electoral law. The only candidate is the outgoing coordinator, Fulvio Martusciello, head of Forza Italia’s delegation to the European Parliament. This is because Alessandro Carrazza, who had put himself forward as a candidate for the congress, was prevented from standing. How? Quite simply, he was prevented from completing the usual formalities required for his candidacy because the regional party offices remained closed for practically the whole of August. Documents from party members in the provinces of Salerno and Caserta have also been sent, calling for the congress to be put on hold.

But even in Calabria, tempers are running high, after the former regional leader of Forza Italia, Domenico Giannetta, decided to stand as a candidate for Futuro Nazionale in the upcoming by-elections (he will be challenging Fabio Roscioli, who is close to the Berlusconis and backed by the entire centre-right). Tajani tried to play down the situation by saying that “we will win the by-elections”, but the offer of support made by Tajani’s supporters to President Occhiuto was sent back to the sender with some irritation. In Basilicata, meanwhile, as reported by Il Fatto, local powerbrokers have managed to have Minister Casellati removed as coordinator, and here too the party is heading towards its congress with the formal confirmation of President Bardi, another staunch loyalist of Tajani. In Sicily, on the other hand, the work of regional commissioner Nino Minardo continues, postponing the congress (which at that point could be held after the forthcoming local elections). And in the north? At the Rimini Meeting, Public Administration Minister Paolo Zangrillo – who, speaking to Il Foglio, had clashed with Tajani over the announcement regarding the anti-bureaucracy plan – said he had “clarified matters” with the deputy secretary. Even the Piedmont congress, however, has as yet not been convened. Signs of impatience, in short, which are not confined to the south. And which will certainly feature in the meeting that Tajani and Marina Berlusconi are due to hold in the coming weeks, probably once again at Mediaset’s headquarters.